


Mother of the Bride

by Vickiemoseley



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Gen, Hurt Fox Mulder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 18:13:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16331051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vickiemoseley/pseuds/Vickiemoseley
Summary: A momentous occasion in Maggie Scully's life





	Mother of the Bride

**Author's Note:**

> The By Her Side series was created when I just couldn't get out of my head the idea that Bill Scully Jr. had to have some redeeming qualities

Title: Mother of the Bride  
Author: Vickie Moseley  
Spoiler: Existence  
Summary: A momentous occasion in Maggie Scully's life  
Category: MSM, Maggie Angst, Doggett Free Zone  
Disclaimer: You get the money, we get the characters. That works.  
Archives: yes  
Thanks to my Evil Twin—hope this one is an inspiration, too.  
Comments: Please, I love them. Send them, I'll write back

Mother of the Bride  
By Vickie Moseley  
vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com

I didn't want anymore late night phone calls. Not for a while, at least.  
The two, no, three that I'd received in the past three weeks had been more   
than enough for me. First, the call from Fox that he was taking Dana to   
the hospital because the baby nurse I had hired might have poisoned her.   
I was frantic all night, even after I was assured that my daughter and   
my grandchild were fine and would continue to be so. 

Two nights later I received a frantic and cryptic phone call from Dana  
saying that she and Fox were 'going away for a while', but the call only   
lasted less then a minute and I wasn't given time to ask questions. When   
I tried, repeatedly, to reach her all through that night and the next day,   
I got only her machine, which was finally filled with my messages and started  
cutting me off without letting me say a word. 

Fox called the next time, a night later, telling me what hospital to come to   
so I could see my grandson. I must admit, I wasn't quite as upset at that one,   
but I was still rather miffed that I hadn't been present for the birth.   
Apparently, neither had Fox, so at least I was in good company.

It was just over a week after that momentous occasion, the birth of my  
grandson, William Mulder, that I received yet another phone call. When   
my caller ID showed Dana's apartment number, I hurried to pick up.   
Anything might have happened, Dana might be sick, the baby might have   
fallen. As I brought the receiver up to my ear my mind played with all   
the horrible possibilities that I'd never imagined with any of my other   
grandchildren. Fox might be missing again, the baby ... I didn't want to   
think those thoughts, but they came to me all the same.

"Dana, is the baby all right? You, Fox? What's the matter? Why are you  
calling so late?" I demanded breathlessly. 

"Mom, slow down," Dana giggled over the phone. God, how I'd missed that.  
Hearing my baby girl laugh, giggle, show some happiness. The first real   
smile I'd seen in months was on her face when I came to visit Fox in the   
hospital. That smile had become strained in the recent weeks, but it was   
back ten fold when I went to visit my new grandson for the very first time.  
Finally, I could hear it in her voice, over the phone.

"Mom, we're fine. Wills is sleeping and Mulder is right here beside me.  
Um, Mom, we have a favor to ask," Dana said and at the time I was so relieved   
I didn't notice the slight break in her voice. 

"Sure, sweetheart. Just give me the list, I'll run out right now," I  
answered. Middle of the night trips to the grocery were a vivid memory of   
my life with four children. And that was just for milk and bread. Now there   
were diapers and diaper wipes and any number of 'essential' items we'd   
somehow managed to live without.

"Mom, it's not a grocery list. Um, actually, we were wondering what you  
were doing tomorrow afternoon, say about 2:30." 

I could hear Fox in the background; he was saying something I couldn't  
make out.

"Well, I have 'meals on wheels' from 11 to 1, but I think I'm free for  
the rest of the afternoon. Why? Do you have a doctor's appointment?"   
I was a little confused, since Fox had been doing so many of the   
chores that Dana needed to have done around the apartment. 

"No, it's not a doctor's appointment, but we do want you to come with  
us. We need you to meet us at the courthouse in Alexandria at 2:30."

"Dana," I whispered, holding my breath and hoping my suspicions about  
this 'appointment' were correct. "Can you tell me what this is all about?"

Suddenly, Fox was on the phone. "Call it an early birthday present, Mrs.  
Scully. And maybe a late Mother's Day Present, as well."

Tears were streaming down my cheeks and I almost couldn't get out the  
next words. "Do I need to bring anything?"

Fox had given the phone back to Dana and I could hear him repeating my  
question for her. "Just yourself, Mom. Oh, and wear something nice, if   
you don't mind."

"My Easter dress, will that do?" My suspicions were all but confirmed  
and I was overjoyed. But I could tell this was supposed to be a surprise   
for me and I didn't want to spoil that for them.

"The green one? Yes, that will do nicely," Dana replied. We then chatted  
for a moment about the baby until I could hear Fox in the background calling   
for a new box of wipes. My grandson seemed to think naps were never meant to   
be very long. I told Dana I loved her and said good night.

I didn't sleep a wink that night. I tossed and turned and always my mind  
kept coming back to one thought. This was the night before my daughter's   
wedding day. I had planned this day in my mind from the moment the doctor   
put a squalling Melissa in my arms. When Dana was born just a year and a half   
later, Bill had joked that he'd have to start saving immediately just to  
pay for two weddings. 

It was always a deeply kept secret of mine that one of my regrets for  
Melissa and for Bill was that neither of them got to see the wedding days   
I had planned. I knew that it was selfish of me, but every mother dreams   
of her daughter's wedding day and I always felt doubly blessed that I   
would get two such days. Instead, after Missy died, I kept quiet, but   
a bit of my heart broke over the fact we'd never see that day together. 

As the years passed, and I saw how close Dana became to her partner, I  
couldn't help but wish for just one such day. Years came and went and I   
watched the relationship grow so very close, closer than any I'd   
ever witnessed save the one I had shared with Bill. I dreamed that one  
day, I would get to see my daughter's wedding. That dream died the day   
we lowered Fox's casket into the frozen ground. I grieved for the man we   
had lost, but I grieved, too, for the dream that had died with him.

I was shocked when Fox was returned some three months later. I will  
never understand how he survived being buried alive and I continue to   
stop my thoughts whenever they wander in that direction, but I was   
happy no matter how it came about. Though for some reason, I just never  
let my heart dream about wedding days again. Even when I knew that Dana   
was carrying his child, I just always steered away from dreams of   
white dresses and rose bouquets, seven tiered cakes and tow-headed ring  
bearers. I figured they would never get around to it and I had best catch   
up with the times I was living in.

I fell asleep somewhere near sunrise, but something was still breaking  
in my heart. Even as my dreams were being realized, I still felt that   
something was missing.

I woke up long after my alarm and was rushed getting ready to do my  
meals on wheels duties. When I got back to the house it was a little past   
one and I had to get changed and get all the way down the B-W Parkway to   
downtown Alexandria. I was slipping on my dress when something occurred   
to me and I ran to my dresser, digging through the second drawer until I   
found what I needed. Tucking the slim box into my purse, I all but ran   
out the door to my car.

Lunch hour traffic was horrible at best and it seemed even worse when I  
had somewhere important to be. I wondered if Dana had thought to bring   
formula for little William. She surely wouldn't want to breast feed him   
in the courthouse! A thousand thoughts were running through my mind and   
I almost ran a red light before I started to concentrate on my driving.   
The last thing the two, no, three of them needed was my ending up in the   
hospital from a car wreck. Talk about ruining a day! But finally I pulled   
up in front of the courthouse and even found a free parking meter.

It was 2:15 as I entered the glass doors, but I could see Fox pacing  
just on the other side of the metal detectors. "Dana sent me down to make   
sure you could find the judge's chambers," he said to explain his   
presence without my daughter. "Wills needed to be changed, so she's  
taking care of that."

I noticed he was wearing one of his charcoal grey suits with a tie that  
I had given him for Christmas two or three years ago. For a brief moment,   
I remember looking at that suit as it hung in his closet just five months   
before. Dana had called me in tears. She was at his apartment, searching   
through his closet for the clothes he would wear in his casket. It broke  
my heart when she took out each suit; making some mention of the last time   
she's seen him in it. She'd settled on a navy blue one because she remembered   
it as the one he'd worn when he'd punched out an auditor. A faint sad smile   
had played on her lips for the briefest of moments until the tears returned   
to take its place.

For a second, standing there in that lobby, it was impossible for me to  
believe that he was there, alive, and waiting for me to go through the metal   
detector. Life was moving on and to me it seemed to be going at an amazing rate.

"I'm really sorry about this," Fox said as he held the door for me to  
enter the elevator.

I must have looked confused because he drew in a deep breath and continued. 

"I know you would have liked to have the rest of the family here. I mentioned   
it to Dana, but she didn't want to wait and well, quite frankly, neither did I.   
think we waited a little too long as it is," he added with that lop sided grin   
I've grown so fond of over the years.

"Fox," I said, reaching over to put my hand on his arm. "This is yours and Dana's   
decision. I accept that, and I know her brothers will, too."

He laughed at that. "Somehow, Mrs. Scully, I think that's wishful thinking. I have   
a feeling I better be ready for a real ass kicking in the not too distant future."

I grinned back at him. "Well, if they start to come after you, they'll have to go   
through me, first. And so far, neither of them have ever had the guts to do that."

Fox allowed himself a full laugh at that. "I think I'm with them on that  
one," he said as we reached our floor and got off the elevator.

Dana was standing the middle of the hallway, bouncing a squalling infant on her   
shoulder. She had her hair pulled back in a clip and wore a pale pink suit I'd   
never seen. It was a fuller cut and I'm sure that was to accommodate her post   
pregnancy figure. Still, she looked stunning.

"Mulder, where did you put the pacifier?" she asked without even acknowledging   
my appearance.

"Did you look in the side pocket of the diaper bag?" he asked, searching for   
and finding the bag sitting on a wooden bench. In an instant he was searching   
through the pockets, coming up empty. "I know I put it in here, Scully. It was   
in my hands when I picked up the bag and I just slipped it in . . ." His face   
lit into a grin and he pulled his hand triumphantly out of the bag, in his   
fingers was the clear plastic pacifier. "Found it."

Dana eyed him suspiciously and took the pro-offered pacifier. "Next time, don't   
hide it on me," she growled. Shifting the baby down into her arms, she tried   
unsuccessfully to get him to take the pacifier.

"Maybe he's hungry," Fox suggested innocently.

"Maybe you'd like to try breastfeeding him in a silk blouse and suit  
jacket," Dana shot back.

"Dana, may I hold him?" I had to run interference or there wouldn't be a  
wedding before there was a divorce.

"Sure, Mom, but here, I don't want him to spit up on your dress," she  
fretted, placing a cloth diaper on my shoulder.

"I've had spit up on my dresses before, Dana. I'm sure I'll have it  
again." But then I felt the weight of my baby grandson against my shoulder   
and I couldn't find enough moisture in my throat to speak. His precious   
little head snuggled into my neck and I could smell the baby shampoo that   
Dana had used to wash his hair. I swayed gently, an ancient dance I could   
never forget slowly lulling him to slumber.

This tiny little miracle, one I never thought I'd see, was falling asleep   
on my shoulder. I thought my heart would burst with joy.

"Good job, Mrs. Scully," Fox whispered, his grin matching the twinkle in  
his eyes. "Fussing to sleeping in under five minutes. A new Wills world   
record!"

"Quick, put him in the car seat. The judge has court at three, we have  
to get in the chambers now," Dana informed us in no uncertain terms.

"Don't be so romantic, Scully," Fox teased and after a split second  
flash of red in her eyes, she broke into a wide grin, stood up to him on   
tip toe and placed a kiss right on his chin.

"Let's go get hitched, G-man," she purred. It was the first time I'd  
ever heard that tone come out of my daughter, and I wouldn't have missed   
it for the world.

"That's more like it," Fox growled in return and took her in his arms  
for a quick hug. I gave them a little privacy while I put the baby in   
his car seat carrier.

"I'm not late, am I?" 

I wasn't surprised to hear the voice; I'd almost asked Dana where he  
was. Assistant Director Skinner was stepping off the elevator, a large   
bouquet of white roses in his hands.

"Thanks, Walt, but I really prefer red," Fox joked and I was somewhat  
surprised to see the usually stern AD chuckle. 

"Next time, Mulder. I'll make sure I remember next time." He handed the  
bouquet over to Dana, who smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek. 

"Thank you, Walter. They're beautiful."

"I figured the groom would forget," he said, shooting a look over to Fox.

"That's why I asked you to be the best man, Walt," Fox beamed.

Dana was already through the door of the judge's chambers, tapping her  
foot insistently. "C'mon, people, time's a wasting!"

"Dana, wait," I said suddenly, before I ever realized I was thinking the  
words. Three pairs of eyes fixed on me in total surprise.

"What, Mom? Can it wait?" she asked anxiously, glancing over her  
shoulder at the judge who had come around his desk and was busy paging   
through a worn book looking for the right passages.

"No, it can't. Can we talk, just for a minute? Out here in the hall?" I  
don't know what I was thinking, my mouth was talking, but my head was   
spinning. I just knew I needed to talk to her, alone.

Dana frowned; Fox shrugged but nodded his head in silent acquiescence.  
She stepped out into the hallway and I closed the door behind us.

"Mom, what's going on? What's the problem?" she asked and I could tell  
she was just barely holding her anger in check. When Dana makes a decision,   
hell and all its fury won't stop her. But here I was, standing in the way   
of her happiness. Or at least, that's what she thought.

"Dana, this is a very important moment in your life, and I just want to  
you reflect on it for a second," I started. I really didn't know what I   
was going to say; I just felt that I had to have some time with her.

"Mom," she said softly, a gentle smile forming on her lips. "I've thought   
about this. For a long time. I won't be apart from him, Mom. He's the   
father of my son and I want to be with him, always. We aren't   
rushing into this, Mom. You, of all people must surely see that!"

"Honey, I'm not saying you're rushing into this," I tried to explain. "I  
just want to take a moment to understand what is happening. And maybe   
this isn't even about you, really. Maybe it's about me."

She covered a hundred different expressions from surprise to anger to  
worry in about a breath and a half. "Mom, what haven't you told me?"   
she demanded. "Are you sick? What's the matter?"

"Dana, Dana, stop jumping to conclusions and let me finish," I said,  
probably a little too loudly for a courthouse hallway. She quieted   
immediately and stood chewing her lip. "First, I am fine, there is   
nothing wrong with me—physically." That comment earned me an arched brow  
and narrowed stare. "It's just that I always dreamed of this day, Dana,   
but this is definitely not how I pictured it!"

There, the truth was finally out. She stood there chewing on that lip  
again, and I know she was regretting the fact that they had called me   
to join them. I felt horrible; I'd ruined this day for her because of   
my own selfish dreams.

"Mom," she whispered after an eternity. "I never pictured getting to  
this day." A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped at its intrusion.   
"I'm sorry I'm not getting married in the Church, but we just didn't want   
to take the time. As for Pre-Cana conferences, Mom, if I don't know Mulder   
by now, I never will."

I could see exactly where her thoughts were going and she still wasn't  
getting the picture. 

"Dana, this isn't about churches and priests and all of that. It's about  
me and you and how apart we've grown," I said with a tired sigh. I felt   
exhausted, and it was more than just not have slept the night   
before. I figured by this point it was a lost cause trying to explain  
myself. Since I couldn't make the day any worse, I decided to go ahead   
with the plan I'd made just before I left the house. I dug through   
my purse and pulled out the narrow box. "Here. Maybe you'll understand."  
I handed her the box and stepped back a few feet. It was everything I   
could do not to break down into sobs.

With trembling fingers she opened the box. The hinge caused her a bit of  
trouble, but it soon released a squeak and she uncovered the contents.   
Her gasp was soft and tears filled her eyes.

"Mom, are these . . .?"

"Your Grandmother's pearls? Yes. The same ones she's wearing in her  
wedding picture. Your father and I got married at the base chapel in   
Newport News and my mother couldn't get there. I never got to   
wear these on my wedding day. I just always wanted to make that up to  
her. I wanted my daughters," I choked on that word and quickly corrected   
myself, "my daughter, to wear them on her wedding day."

She was crying in earnest now, and that wasn't what I'd intended, but I  
wasn't surprised. Reverently, she pulled the strand of pearls free from   
the cloth ties and tried unsuccessfully to undo the clasp.

"Mom, help," she laughed through her tears, handing me the strand. I  
wasn't much better working the clasp, my eyes were brimming over, but   
it finally came free and I reached around and encircled her neck   
with the pearls. 

"You know, my name means Pearl," I told her as I fixed the clasp,  
securing the strand.

"I know. I've got the baby name book almost memorized," she grinned.  
"How do they look?" she asked, and for a moment I remembered the little   
girl she once was, standing in front of my bedroom mirror, posing in her   
new Easter dress.

"Just as I always dreamed they would," I told her. The tears were drying  
on my cheeks, and I could swear somewhere down the hall I heard my mother's   
soft laughter.

"Hey, you don't want to keep the groom waiting," I announced, wiping at  
her chin to keep the teardrops from ruining her silk blouse.

"Yeah. He might change his mind," she grinned back. She reached for the  
door, but I grabbed it first. 

"One more tradition. Let me lead you in."

She smiled at me and nodded. I opened the door to three very anxious  
faces. I smiled warmly at Fox and he relaxed. 

"What? No music?" I asked, stepping into the chambers. The Judge, whose  
name I still didn't know, looked first confused and then frantic. 

"I've got this CD player. My wife gave me some disks for it, but  
frankly, I usually just listen to NPR," he stammered. 

I looked through the CDs quickly, finding the perfect one. I slipped it  
into the player and soon Pachebel's Canon in D filled the empty spaces   
in the room.

"There. Wedding music," I sighed and Fox grinned at me. But then his  
attention turned to the door and his gaze was fixed on his bride.

She wasn't wearing my wedding dress, and she didn't have on her First  
Communion veil as she'd once imagined when she was in second grade. But   
she was beaming the same smile I remember had been on my face   
one afternoon in June, 37 years ago. And around her throat were my  
mother's pearls. She stepped forward and grabbed Fox's outstretched   
hand in her own, taking her place by his side.

Just as I'd always dreamed.

The end.


End file.
